LNG

Sea-LNG, the UK-registered non-profit industry foundation committed to furthering the use of LNG as a cleaner and superior maritime fuel, has urged an end to the misrepresentation of the status of methane-slip risks delaying the build-out of a cleaner LNG-powered fleet.

Avenir LNG, a company owned by Norwegian shipping and infrastructure operators, said its newest 20,000 cubic metres capacity LNG bunkering vessel has been launched in China and it would be delivered later in 2021.

The “Avenir Allegiance” entered the water at the Zhoushan Changhong Sinopacific Shipyard Co. in China’s eastern Zheijang province.

“The vessel is scheduled to be delivered from the yard in the third quarter of this year and she will join the Avenir LNG fleet as the world’s largest LNG bunkering vessel,” said Avenir.

Avenir is a joint venture owned by London-based Norwegian shipping and storage company Stolt-Nielsen and its peer fleet owners and project companies, Höegh LNG and Golar LNG.

The company said that the “Avenir Allegiance” would be Cayman Island-flagged and is the fourth of six newbuilds delivered to Avenir.

Avenir’s first newbuild delivery, the “Avenir Advantage”, took place in October 2020 and will be followed by the “Avenir Accolade”, the “Avenir Aspiration”, the “Avenir Allegiance”, the “Avenir Ascension” and the “Avenir Achievement” during 2021.

“We are delighted to see the latest, and largest, vessel in the Avenir LNG fleet being successfully launched by our partners CIMC SOE,” said Peter Mackey, Chief Executive of Avenir LNG Limited.

“We look forward to taking delivery of the ‘Avenir Allegiance’ later this year,” he added.

Avenir CEO Mackey stated that as the largest LNG bunkering vessel in the world, the “Avenir Allegiance” was a clear demonstration of Avenir’s commitment to developing new LNG supply chains.

“She will play a critical role in helping the shipping industry to transition to LNG as a more environmentally sustainable fuel,” stated Mackey.

“The ‘Avenir Allegiance’ will operate as both an LNG bunkering vessel and an LNG supply vessel,’ explained the CEO.

“This highly flexible vessel underscores our strategy of simultaneously unlocking multiple new LNG markets with multi-functional assets.,” said Mackey.

Avenir is building up a fleet of LBVs vessels of between 7,500 cubic metres capacity and 20,000 cubic metres capacity.

Another of the LBVs, the “Avenir Advantage”, was delivered in November 2020 to the Future Horizon joint venture comprising Malaysia’s MISC Group and Avenir.

Additionally, Malaysian energy company Petronas has chartered the “Avenir Advantage” from Future Horizon for a period of three years.

Norwegian firm Stolt-Nielsen started up the small-scale LNG sector firm Avenir in 2015 and its two investors, Golar and Höegh, each have 22.5 percent of Avenir to Stolt-Nielsen’s 45 percent.

The experienced shipping partners of Avenir are aiming to build up the market in small-scale LNG supply to off-grid industry for power generation and transportation fuel, as well as providing infrastructure to support the development of LNG as a marine fuel.

Avenir additionally has an 80 percent stake in a small-scale LNG import project company Higas on the Italian island of Sardinia, while the local partners are Gas & Heat and CPL Concordia, each holding 10 percent of the Sardinia venture.

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US maritime classification society, and Singapore-based Keppel Offshore and Marine said they were currently completing key features of the world’s first smart LNG bunkering vessel.

Nov 28 (LNGJ) - Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, the Japanese shipping company known as K-Line, said it signed a ship management agreement for the newbuild LNG bunkering vessel owned by FueLNG and set to operate in the Port of Singapore. FueLNG is a bunkering joint venture between Singapore’s Keppel Offshore and Marine Ltd and Shell Eastern Petroleum.

   “We signed a ship management contract for the 7,500 cubic metres capacity LNG fuel supply ship owned by FueLNG,” said K-Line. “After the ship is delivered to FueLNG in the second half of 2020, it is scheduled to begin service as the first LNG fuel supply ship in Singapore, the world's largest fuel supply base,” added K-Line, whose own fleet contains LNG carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers and container vessels.